Monday, July 12, 2010

Ex-Seal Bibens-Dirkx promoted to AAA

It has been quite a couple of weeks for former-Seal Austin Bibens-Dirkx. First he was named to the Southern League (AA) All-Star team. Then he was named the Southern League Pitcher of the Week for June 28th to July 4th, his second such award this season. Then on July 8th, the Cubs promoted Bibens-Dirkx to AAA Iowa of the Pacific Coast League. The promotion has been expected here at the VSBB for a number of weeks and it's great to see Bibens-Dirkx rewarded for his efforts.

In 2009, Austin had a 2-2 record with a 3.70 ERA for the Victoria Seals. He was also leading the Golden League in strikeouts with 54 in 48 2/3 innings when he was plucked from the Victoria roster by the Cubbies. This season, Bibens-Dirkx went 5-3 with a 3.27 ERA for the (AA) Tennessee Smokies. While in AA, he held opponents to a .196 batting average and had a stunning 1.01 WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched).

Bibens-Dirkx made his AAA debut on Friday night and he did not disappoint, earning the win in a 6-1 victory over the New Orleans Zephyrs. He gave up only one earned run in five innings and held New Orleans to only four hits. If Bibens-Dirkx can stay hot, it's not outside the realm of possibility that the Cubs would make him a September call-up. If he were to get the call, Bibens-Dirkx would be the first Victoria Seal to ever go on to appear in the major leagues.

Seal Blubber Bits

The Seals finished the first half of the season on Sunday with a 21-23 record (.477 winning percentage). That's a significant improvement (so far) over their showing in 2009 (32-50, .390) and it looks like the Seals could be in a pennant race in the second half.

The Seals start the second half of the season on Thursday night in Chico in the first of a three-game set against the Outlaws. Chico won the first-half title in the North Division with a 33-12 record. Maui won the South Division first-half crown with a 26-17 record.

The Golden League is set to face the Northern League All Stars on Wednesday night in Tucson. Josh Arhart and Brian Rios will represent the Seals.

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About This Blog

The Victoria Seals Baseball Blog (VSBB) was founded as an outlet for our opinions, observations and random musings on the Victoria Seals, a defunct team that played in the Golden Baseball League in 2009 and 2010. Now that the team has ceased operations, this blog will post follow-up stories about our beloved Seals and those related to the return of elite level baseball to Victoria.

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